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A former coach found notes from her great aunt’s time at Michigan State University.
Those handwritten notes from her speech class defined Speech as ‘The communication of ideas and attitudes toward ideas in order to win a response.’
Speech is about communication, and communication has two general aspects; Content and Performance. All of our events balance these two ideas in different ways but universally build both skills.
Your availability, personality, interests, background may gravitate you to a different balance between those two ideas.
BHS Speech and Debate offers 7 different speech events and 1 debate event.
There are many ways to categorize the events, from rules to time, to what kind of work they require for success. Below are just general rules and descriptions of the events with further details of which may be the best *fit* further down the page.
COMPETITIVE ACTING EVENTS
Dramatic Interpretation (DI): Using a published work, students perform a selection up to ten minutes in length. With a spotlight on character development and depth, this event focuses on the student’s ability to convey emotion through the use of dramatic text. Generally a piece is selected at the beginning of the year and doesn't change during the season but is adjusted and practiced and improved upon. There is a set time limit of 10 minutes, with a grace period of 30 seconds.
Program Oral Interpretation (POI): Using a combination of Prose, Poetry, and Drama, students construct a program up to ten minutes in length using at least two out of the three genres with a spotlight on argumentation and performance range. Generally a piece is selected at the beginning of the year and does not change during the season but is adjusted, practiced and improved upon. There is a set time limit of 10 minutes, with a grace period of 30 seconds.
SELF-WRITTEN SPEECHES
Informative Speaking (INF): Students deliver a self-written, ten-minute speech on a topic of their choosing. All topics must be informative in nature; the goal is to educate, not to advocate. The speech is delivered from memory. Generally a topic is selected and a speech is written at the beginning of the year and does not change during the season but is adjusted, practiced and improved upon. There is a set time limit of 10 minutes, with a grace period of 30 seconds.
Original Oratory (OO): Students deliver a self-written, ten-minute speech on a topic of their choosing. Competitors craft an argument using evidence, logic, and emotional appeals. Topics range widely, and may be inspirational or persuasive in nature. The speech is delivered from memory. Generally a topic is selected and a speech is written at the beginning of the year. From there it does not change during the season but is adjusted, practiced and improved upon. There is a set time limit of 10 minutes, with a grace period of 30 seconds.
PRE-WRITTEN SPEECHES
Declamation (DEC): Students bring to life-literally-by delivering a speech that has been delivered by someone else. The goal of declamation is for the student to perform another speaker’s message in their own voice. Generally a piece is selected at the beginning of the year and does not change during the season but is adjusted, practiced and improved upon. If a student cannot make a decision on an event or has an incredibly busy schedule, Declamation is a foundational speech event which allows them to compete and be a team member with more flexibility than the other events. There is a set time limit of 10 minutes, with a grace period of 30 seconds.
OFF-THE-CUFF SPEAKING / CURRENT EVENTS
International Extemporaneous Speaking (IX) & United States Extemporaneous Speaking (USX): Extemporaneous Speaking has both an International and United States category. Both categories are commonly referred to as "Extemp" for short. Students are presented with a choice of three questions related to international OR national current events. The student has 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech answering the selected question. Students may consult articles and evidence they gather prior to the contest or using the internet. Students give an unique speech every time they give an extemp speech (tournaments and practices). There is a set time limit of 7 minutes, with a grace period of 30 seconds.
DEBATE
Public Forum Debate: A debate event where you compete with a partner. Topics are chosen by the National organization. There will be 1 topic for first semester and up to 3 topics for second semester. Students must prepare research, speeches, rebuttals for both sides (Affirmative/Negative) for the topic. Sides are chosen randomly each round students compete in at a tournament.
Click Here for Video Examples!
Students generally compete in one event per season. If a chosen event is fundamentally not working out, changing events mid-season is difficult but doable with a lot of effort. Changing events is much simpler BETWEEN seasons.
Some ways to consider the differences between events
Balance between performance vs concrete research/argumentation
Highest focus on performance: Dramatic Interpretation (DI), Program Interpretation (POI), Declamation (DEC)
Balanced focus on performance and argumentation: Informative (INF) and Original Oratory (OO)
High focus for performance AND argumentation: Extemporaneous Speaking (IX/USX)
Balance between time commitment & complexity of the events
Most students who join our team are involved in many other activities. Others, regardless of schedule, want to commit themselves to the most complex and difficult categories to get the most they can out of their time with the team.
Here is an approximate breakdown of how much time and complexity there is between our events.
Most complexity: Extemporaneous (IX/USX), Original Oratory (OO), Program Interpretation (POI)
Moderate complexity: Informative (INF), Dramatic Interpretation (DI)
Low complexity: Declamation (DEC)
Bottom Line
Based on these factors and your personal situation (if Speech is a high or low priority activity for you) and your personal strengths/interests (do you like doing character voices or reading the news) you can use that to figure out what event you may have the most fun with during the season. Someone who wants to learn a lot about public speaking but is busy can use DEC as an entry event their first year. Someone who enjoys writing and performance can do either OO or POI. Students who are interested in debate and current events are welcome in IX or USX if they have the time and research interest or in INF if they want to write one speech and deliver/improve it throughout the year. We in general, tend to have something for everyone! Confused? Coaches can explain more in person, just contact us or come to a meeting!
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